Nii Odoi Kwao family celebrates 2025 Homowo amidst calls for gov’t intervention in chieftaincy disputes

By Paul Mamattah

The Nii Odoi Kwao family of Osu came to life as they celebrated the 2025 Homowo with vibrant displays of culture, togetherness, and joy.

Dressed in striking red traditional clothing, family members and visitors filled the Nii Odoi Kwao ancestral home and surrounding streets, dancing to drums and local tunes.

The air rang with chants, singing, and the thump of ancestral drums as family members paraded through the Nii Odoi Kwao homestead to mark the festival.

Homowo, which translates to “hooting at hunger,” honours the Ga people’s historic triumph over famine and today stands for harvest, abundance, and communal strength.

This year’s festivities included family reunions, shared traditional meals Kpokpoi, and traditional rites designed to foster peace and unity within the family and beyond.

Addressing the media after sprinkling the traditional food, Kpokpoi, the Head of the Nii Odoi Kwao family of Osu, Nii Odoi Kwao II, has deep concern over the growing chieftaincy disputes in the Greater Accra Region, attributing the problem to individuals who use their wealth, often ill-gotten, to manipulate traditional affairs.

He said the interference of such individuals has led to the disruption of royal lineages, with people claiming titles that do not rightfully belong to them.

“Chieftaincy and royalty are founded on three principles, the foremost being heredity. A chief must come from the rightful lineage, as the institution is hereditary and ancestral. It is not something one can simply assume,” he stressed.

Nii Odoi Kwao II, lamented that the institution has now been reduced to a contest for the highest bidder, a trend that undermines its sacred traditions.

The Nii Odoi Kwao family head, therefore, appealed to the President, the Attorney General, and the Inspector General of Police to urgently intervene in the chieftaincy disputes.

According to him, many of the cases are already before the authorities, and firm action is needed if peace is to prevail in the country.

Nii Odoi Kwao II, further urged the government to decisively weed out impostors and criminals who have infiltrated the institution, stressing that just as every profession has disciplinary mechanisms to check misconduct, the same must apply to chieftaincy.

“The government must not remain passive but should empower the Ghana Police Service, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), and the Judiciary to enforce the law without fear or favour. Only then can we restore dignity to the chieftaincy institution and stem the tide of disputes, especially in the Greater Accra Region,” he said.

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